We made it!!!

For all the concerned parents who have been anxiously awaiting news, we made it safely to Antigua around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Though tired and worn out from a long day of traveling, we are here and praise God for his protection in getting us here.

Our day began bright and early at 2:00 a.m. as we loaded up our luggage at Bob Jones University, said our goodbyes and hit the road. We praise the Lord for the safety He gave us on the road. Especially with the early nature of our quest from Greenville to Atlanta.

We then flew from Atlanta to Miami with no complications at all. We did have to shift around some weight in one of our food suitcases (I guess my stash of Reese's candy bars were discovered to be too heavy). After arriving safely in the Miami airport around 9:00 a.m., the team spread out around the airport to try to find a decent breakfast meal near our gate. The consensus finally came to be Wendy's although they didn't serve any breakfast items. So it was Chicken sandwiches and Baconators as the "breakfast of champions" for our team.

Most spent their remaining minutes in the U.S. surfing Facebook and sending last-minute messages to family and friends. At 11:00 a.m. we embarked on the final leg of the journey in a 3-hour flight from Miami to Antigua. The trip was absolutely breathtaking as we looked over the vast space of the ocean in all its beauty. After arriving in Antigua, we were greeted by Nathan and Renee' Owens and Ken Kirkland at the airport. They helped us secure two rental vans (with air conditioning) and we packed up our luggage and headed out to our home away from home for the next two weeks. Kathryn certainly had a culture shock in experiencing her first driving experience in Antigua.

The best way to describe driving in Antigua would be to combine the atmosphere of a demolition derby, with  streets the size of most American alley ways. Thankfully, the Lord kept us all safe and we managed to get all the vehicles to the missionaries house in a timely manner.

After taking a few minutes to unpack, we all donned our swimsuits for a quick dip in the beautiful beach across from the missionaries house. Little Julia wasn't much of a fan of the ocean for her first experience (that could be because of an enormous wave that she encountered upon entering the water, but I digress). We then came up for a meal with all of the missionaries and the team had a great time getting to know the missionaries.

It is now 7:15, and one by one, team members are beginning to fall to the tireless grasps of exhaustion. We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow as we will hit the ground running in helping at the Caribbean Radio Lighthouse and in local schools. On a side note, we wanted to say thank you so much to those who prayed for little Julia in the trip today. She did a wonderful job and was very happy and content all day, and then slept the entire 3-hour flight from Miami to Antigua. It may be a small thing, but her cooperation in a very stressful day was a great blessing. We know many of you prayed specifically for that and we thank you!

Also, on another personal note, Abby Edwards has been tirelessly chasing me around and told me to say "hi" to her family and friends.

We all miss home and our loved ones very much, but we are thrilled with the opportunity to serve our Great God on the beautiful island of Antigua.

Until we meet again via the Antigua blog, we bid you goodnight for now.

- Jonny Gamet